


In which Rhys can time travel, apparently

by paxmypenguina



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: AU, Angst, Canon Typical Violence, Gore, Jack being Jack, M/M, Manipulation, Mental Health Issues, Rated E for later chapters, Rhys needs a fucking hug, Slow Burn, Suicide, Tales From the Borderlands, Time Loop, Time Travel, dark themes, fuck canon timelines, hologram jack, i am going to torture rhys a lot and i'm sorry, lol whats a new-u machine anyway, rhack - Freeform, seriously loads of angst, set mostly on pandora, smut planned for later, there will be plotty goodness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-23 18:37:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21324802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paxmypenguina/pseuds/paxmypenguina
Summary: After reaching the Vault of the Traveller, Rhys finds himself sent back in time. He discovers two things: he can't die, and the universe keeps trying to kill him.(Or, in which Rhys gets stuck in a time death loop and gets real sick of having to deal with Jack being in his head again.)
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands), Slight Rhys/Fiona but not really
Comments: 25
Kudos: 135





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I wrote a time loop fic for Gotham and it was really well recieved. However, I have ended up hyperfixating on Borderlands (oops) so I'm reusing the trope in some Rhack angst. I'll get around to updating Quantum Death Theory eventually but I really wanted to explore the chemistry between Jack and Rhys so we're doing that instead.
> 
> I really hope the characterization isn't too atrocious. Also, I'm gonna try and rewatch/play certain bits so I can keep things canon but I'm lazy so I'll swap some of the dialogue out for my own. I'll add tags as I update - there will be smut later and I cannot wait to reach it. Aiming for a bit of a slow burn with this one. Any feedback/kudos/comments are greatly appreciated and spur me on to keep writing.
> 
> note: might have gotten a little carried away with the action scene in this first chapter, oopsies

Purple neon lights danced around them like alien fairy lights. They stared in awe at the sight. At the top of the stairs, a box laid waiting for them, a violet beam of energy radiating upon it. Rhys' heart pounded, anxiety mingling with excitement in his stomach. He glanced to his left to see Fiona looking onwards, eyes wide. She turned her head to look at Rhys.

“So... this is it...” she said, voice breathy and light.

Rhys' gaze settled back on the sights around him. “Yeah... I guess so,” he replied.

“All that work to find a vault... and here we are,” Fiona added. Her tone was filled with disbelief and a dash of hope. She walked forward, her steps careful. “I never dreamed I'd see the inside of one of these things,” she half chuckled, shaking her head. “Walking through a weird, echoey room... to open a glowy box.”

Rhys smiled at her, following behind. “So... what is next for the great Fiona?” he asked, giving her a supportive nod. They both stopped. “You gonna keep the vault hunting thing going...? Or – I don't know... could be a future in that. I mean – how many people can say they've actually found a vault?” he laughed at the concept. “Especially if you count all the people who die seconds after opening one.”

They continue to head up the stairs. “I think you're right,” Fiona said. “This life... suits me – and honestly? I'm as surprised by that as anyone. It's been a good ride. Why get off now?”

Rhys shrugged. “Well, there's plenty of ways out there to make money,” he replied. Fiona lifted an eyebrow, skepticism laid on her features. Rhys looked back up at the box. “Just saying... plenty of ways. But... it doesn't have to drive your existence – like it did mine.”

Fiona put her hands on her hips, tilting her head. “What about you?” she asked. “Will you be Jack's replacement now?”

Rhys didn't say anything. He pursed his lips, then continued walking ahead of Fiona.

Before Helios crashed down onto the surface of Pandora, Jack had been an important part of his journey. An idol, to begin with. Someone to look up to. Then, he'd become a ghost - haunting Rhys' every waking moment as he fought through thick and thin to survive life on this hellscape of a planet. Over the last few months, Jack only entered his thoughts on a night. Nightmares plagued him. Jack's hologram would follow him throughout terrifying ordeals, in which he'd watch his friends die, teasing and mocking his pathetic attempts to save them. Rhys would wake up in a cold sweat, then shake the thought off, pushing Jack back out of his mind.

Fiona kept speaking, but Rhys didn't listen. The lights of the vault dazed him as images of his adventure flashed before him. Shoving Nakayama's drive into his head. Sasha dying. Fiona returning with blank eyes from her space walk after Scooter gave his life. Jack trying to murder him, unaware that he was only a hologram.

“What about Atlas?” Fiona's voice pulled him back out of his head.

Rhys climbed onto the last platform, then turned to face her. “I'm gonna run it differently. It's going to be a success – that, I am sure of.” He leaned down to give her a hand up. “Hey... I just wanna say – thanks. I – we... couldn't have done this without you. I really appreciate it.” As the words came out of his mouth, anxiety sank into his gut. How could he have been so naïve? To trust Jack over Fiona, time and time again until he had to rip his cybernetics from his own body as punishment. Lying to his friends – for what? Power? Money? Fame? Jack's approval? Rhys shuddered.

“We did make a good team, didn't we?” Fiona said through a smile.

Rhys returned the gesture. “Yes. Yes we did.”

They both turned to face the box, silence settling over them. Rhys gulped, then spoke, “You wanna do the honers?” he asked.

Fiona lifted an eyebrow. “It's... the last one. Only right that we both open it.”

“I was kinda hoping you'd say that.”

They reached out. Rhys' heart hammered harder in his chest, thoughts swimming through his head. He exhaled, closing his eyes for a brief moment. _This is it, Rhys_.

He opened his eyes, then, as he felt his fingers brush against the box, a blinding white light overcame his senses. The sound of stone grinding against itself met his ears. He turned to face Fiona, but couldn't see a thing. He tried to speak but no sound came out.

Then, the light began to fade. His head throbbed in pain as the world came back into focus. He didn't realise he was yelling in panic until he saw Fiona giving him a concerned look. “Hey, what is wrong with you?” she asked, sounding annoyed.

“Huh – I, Fiona-” Rhys's tongue couldn't manage to wrap itself around the syllables. Instead of talking, he glanced around, wide eyed at the unfamiliar scene.

Fiona, Sasha and Vaughn all watched him. The attention made Rhys nervous, his gut churning with panic. His body felt numb. He looked down, then saw the Gortys piece in hand. He frowned.

“Well, well, Rhysie – what are you doing?” a familiar voice spoke behind him. It sent shivers down Rhys' spine. “I'm gonna assume you needed me back and deeply regret scooping me 'outta that brain of yours.”

Rhys turned his head to see Jack. Blue, translucent Jack. “Ah!” he yelped, before dropping the device. _This must be a nightmare._

It hit the ground with an unpleasant thud, to which Fiona jerked forward and said, “What the hell, Rhys? Don't break it!”

Rhys paid no attention, eyes fixated on Jack's, his limbs turning stiff. “What did you do, huh – kitten? Did ya fuck up again?” Jack growled, eyes menacing. “Need me to help you murder thousands of civilians again? Because there's only one person I want to murder at the moment – and it's _**you**_.”

Rhys swallowed, shaking his head. He glanced around at the others, then shook himself before turning away. “I-I'll be back, I...” he rushed out, before darting over to the railing. He pulled himself up the stairs, head dizzy with confusion. Jack followed. Once he reached the top, he looked down and felt deja vu flood through him. He caught his breath for a moment, chest heaving before turning to face Jack. “What did you do?” he snapped. “Why the hell are you back? What are we doing here?” More questions raced through his mind, but he bit his lip.

“You brought me back, dum-dum. I had no say in this,” Jack replied.

“Well neither did I!” Rhys lifted a hand to his face. His fingers ghosted around his data port, before his eyes widened. “My arm... it's yellow,” he mumbled. He flexed his hand, frowning at his old cybernetics. He then looked down at his torso, frowning at his Hyperion outfit. “We... we just made it to the vault - I don't understand...” He shook his head.  
  
Jack snorted, then laughed at him. “Yeaah right you made it to the vault. You could barely survive Pandora without me around and... and now you're claiming to be a vault hunter? That's rich, kiddo! Absolutely rich.” He smirked down at Rhys, who had began to hyperventilate, breathing uneven.  
  
“I swear, if you don't start being helpful, I will rip this eye out again,” Rhys hissed at him.  
  
There was silence for a moment. Then, in a dark, low tone, Jack said, “Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now. You destroyed everything. My home. My empire. Me.” Rhys' eye flickered from blue to yellow as the feeling of control in his robot arm disappeared. He felt his own fingers curl around his throat, then squeeze. Jack's eyes were filled with something menacing.

Rhys, spluttering, managed to wheeze out, “If you kill me - you'll go back. You'll go back to being nothing.” Jack's lip twitched. For a moment, the grip tightened, before loosening. Jack took a step back, then Rhys felt air rush into his lungs. “If you want to use whatever this is - a second chance - to get revenge on me because I murdered you, which I had to do because **you** tried to murder me - then go ahead. It won't accomplish anything.” The words came out shaky, yet composed.  
  
“Real fucking smart, kiddo. Real fucking smart-”  
  
Rhys cut him off. “Look - I can't be bothered arguing. I need to figure out what's going on and get back to the vault.” With a new sense of determination, he walked through Jack's hologram, then back down the stairs. Fiona and Sasha were leaned over a coffin like box in the corner. Vaughn stood behind, appearing too scared to watch whatever they were doing.  
  
“Everyone is here. It's like... before,” Rhys mumbled.  
  
“Yeah except you didn't fall off a balcony like a fricken' idiot,” Jack retorted.  
  
Rhys ignored him. “Um - sorry guys. Had a... bit of a moment, there. Remind me - what are we doing here again?” he asked, with an awkward chuckle.  
  
“Fiona is scooping this guy's eye out. It's super gross,” Vaughn replied, grimacing at Rhys.  
  
“Shut up - I'm trying to concentrate!” Fiona hissed back at them.  
  
Rhys nodded, then walked to the back of the room, out of earshot. “I think we... time travelled?” He said, before shaking his head. “No, that's... crazy. I don't understand - why would the vault send me back here? W-why do you have your memories? Fiona was with me. Shouldn't she remember, too?”  
  
“Fuck if I know, kid. The universe probably wanted me back. Yep, I bet this is because you killed me and now the whole cosmos is unbalanced. Either that, or you're going crazy.”  
  
“But why here? It must have something to do with the Gortys piece,” Rhys mused. “I went into the vault, touched the... glowy box, and then everything turned white. I opened my eyes and I was holding that.” He pointed to the device on the floor, then sighed “I'm so confused.”  
  
“You're right," Jack said. “This _is_ our second chance. If we fricken time travelled - and vaults do some funky shit, it wouldn't surprise me - then we already know exactly what's going to happen. We need to take advantage of this, Rhysie.” His tone lit up with giddiness.  
  
“I have not missed you trying to convince me to do bad things,” Rhys mumbled, palming at his forehead.  
  
“It brought us back here for a reason!” Jack declared, waving a hand around. “I mean, you killed so many people on Helios, it was real fucked up. But now we - you - have a chance to fix the mess you made.”  
  
“What?” Rhys hissed, shooting a harsh glare at Jack. “So you can try and shove an endoskeleton inside of me again? You're a psychopath, Jack. I'm not going to listen to your shit. And for the record, the people that survived Helios are happy and free now. I'm... like their king - they even made a statue of me. Well, no... they wrote my name on a statue of you, but that's not the po-”  
  
“Wait, seriously?” Jack cut him off. “Yeah I doubt that. You're so full of shit.”  
  
Rhys' eyes widened. “Moonshots!” He yelled out of the blue, memories flooding back to him in a panic. The others turned to look at him, confusion on their faces. “Helios is about to fire moonshots at us. We have to leave,” he urged.  
  
Fiona squinted at him. “How do you-”

An explosion rang out near the building. Fiona's eyes widened, then she looked around at the others. “Let's go!” she ordered. Sasha gave her a quick nod, before they made haste for the caravan. Rhys and Vaughn followed, Jack floating along behind them.

Another moonshot crashed down beside the caravan as they approached it, shaking the ground. Rhys stumbled as he tried to keep his balance. He managed to throw himself through the door. He turned to give Vaughn a hand up, before dashing to the front of the vehicle. Sasha sat in the drivers seat, then pushed her foot down on the acceleration. “Why the hell is Hyperion trying to kill us? Don't you work for them?” She directed the question to Vaughn and Rhys.

“Yeah, I'll file a complaint with HR when we get back! But we have to not die, right now!” Vaughn yelled from behind.

Rhys clung to the railing in an attempt to not fall as they hit a bump. “Give me the wheel!” he shouted.

“What?” Sasha snapped back. “Are you crazy? Why should I do that?”

Rhys clenched his jaw. Last time, he'd taken over and managed to avoid most of the moonshots, but he and Vaughn ended up flying out the back of the caravan. “I can use my ECHO-Eye to see where the moonshots will land, trust me!” he urged.

“He's right!” Vaughn offered his support. “There's no way you can dodge all of them without being able to predict where they'll hit!”

Sasha glared at Rhys, pursing her lips. “If you don't want to die, let me drive,” said Rhys. Sasha let out a small yelp as she drove over another bump, rocking the caravan.

“We should go to Hollow Point!” Fiona added from behind.

Rhys turned to face her. “No, no we should go straight to Old Haven!” he argued back.

Fiona stepped forward. “They'll be able to track us! If we go to Hollow Point, we can lay low and figure out a plan.”

Loader Bot had taken them to Old Haven last time – after Vasquez found and tried to murder them in the desert. Then, all hell had broken loose. Rhys racked through his brain, trying to remember the order in which things happened. Jack flickered in beside him. “You know, I think you're all wrong. We should head straight up to Helios,” he added, crossing his arms.

“And how are we supposed to do that without a spaceship?” Rhys retorted, before biting his lip. The others looked at him as if he'd gone mad.

“Why on Pandora would we need a damn spaceship to go to Hollow Point?” Sasha hissed in a stressed voice.

Rhys cringed. “Um, n-no reason! Just let me drive, okay?”

Sasha sighed, then stood up. “You better know what you're doing.”

Once Rhys had sat down and put his hands on the wheel, Fiona spoke up again. “Just wait for that to charge,” she pointed at the dashboard. “Keep us alive until then, and we can boost out of here. Got it?”

Rhys nodded. “I got it, I got it,” he rushed out in a panic. _Stay calm Rhys, you've already done this_. He looked forward, activated his ECHO-Eye, and then saw the impact locations. “I don't got it!” he yelled, swerving the caravan to the left in a panic, managing to avoid being hit by the moonshot. He kept driving. His ECHO predicted the next shot – right in front of them. Rhys screamed out as he tugged the steering wheel to the right, but then -

“Crap,” he breathed out. The caravan flew over what appeared to be a large mound of dirt. He kept driving, aware that he'd just awoken some huge Pandoran nightmare creature.

“Oh, good job, you idiot!” Jack laughed, clapping and being incredibly useful.

Then, the Rakk began to splat against the windscreen. Rhys screamed, unsure of how he'd handled this last time. “Fiona, help! I can't see anything!” he yelled, looking behind at her for assistance. Sasha stood up, grabbed the gun from her left, then threw it to Fiona. She pointed it forward, then pulled the trigger.

Shots fired out, smashing through the glass window and into the Rakk. Blood splashed back, splattering onto Rhys' cheek. He flinched backwards, an arm held up to protect his face as he cowered. One by one, the Rakk fell to the ground. Once the view was clear, Rhys and Fiona looked up to see the eye of Helios charging up once again.

“Incoming!” Fiona yelled. The impact came quick, smashing against the back of the caravan. The shock wave sent Fiona flying backwards. Rhys glanced behind for a moment, then took in the damage with wide eyes. Yet again, the back of the caravan had been torn off, leaving them exposed and vulnerable. Vaughn yelled something about him bleeding, but Rhys had to force himself to focus on driving.

“Holy shit,” Fiona said, tone stricken with both awe and panic. Rhys didn't dare turn around. The huge creature barrelled toward them, each stride shaking the ground as it roared. “Rakk Hive, it's a Rakk Hive!” Fiona told them, glancing at each of the group in terror.

Rhys didn't have time to respond as a Rakk dove through the window and then snapped at his arm. “Gah!” he yelped out, flinching away.

“Rhys!” Vaughn shouted, running up to the front to aid him. Sasha followed. A Rakk flew into the back of the caravan, then pinned Fiona down. She screamed out, but managed to push the creature away, before standing up and pushing it to the ground.

“A little help?” She shouted at Vaughn, who was running around in panic, wielding a cooking pan. He let out a small battle cry before smashing the weapon down on the Rakk's face, crushing it. Blood spurted out, hitting both Fiona and Vaughn in the face.

Vaughn shuddered. “Oh God, no, ew – it's in my mouth, argh – I got it in my mouth!”

Meanwhile, Jack stood in the centre of the caravan, losing his shit over the chaos. “This is beautiful! So glad I didn't miss it this time – oh, man!” he bellowed out in laughter, wiping tears from his eyes.

Rhys turned to look at Jack, then bit his lip as he saw the Rakk Hive get closer. “Talk to me, Rhys! Do something!” Fiona shouted as Jack clipped through her.

Rhys pushed down on the accelerator. The caravan sped between two huge stone structures. The Rakk Hive had to navigate itself through them, slowing it down for the moment. He turned around and let out a small victory cheer, grinning at the others, but forgot to keep his eyes on the moonshots. When he looked forward again, his face dropped. The moonshot approached, before hitting the front wheel, sending the caravan into a spinning frenzy. Everyone screamed, yelling out as they tried to hold onto anything nailed down. This went on for a few more seconds before the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. Rhys let out a breath that he didn't realise he'd been holding in.

The Rakk hive stomped its way past them, then turned and reared up onto its hind legs, releasing a mighty roar. Rhys looked to Jack for assistance, but he only shrugged back. “We can't stop it... not with these guns,” said Sasha.

Rhys activated his ECHO-Eye, narrowing his eyes. He glanced down – the boost had almost finished charging. He scanned the next incoming moonshot, then came up with the same plan he'd come up with months ago. “Hold on to your butts,” he told everyone, a smirk playing on his lips.

“What are you doing?” asked Sasha, panic dancing on her tone.

Rhys' hand hovered over the boost button, waiting for it to hit one hundred percent. “Just trust me,” he said with a confident nod. Once it had charged, he pushed the button down.

The caravan let out a loud purr, before kicking into gear. They shot forward, the momentum pushing Rhys back into his seat. “Damn!” he yelled, clinging to the steering wheel as they picked up speed. The moonshot collided into the Rakk Hive, allowing for the caravan to fly right between it's legs.

“Woo, fuck yeah, baby!” Jack yelled from behind, joining in with the group's cheers as they sped away to safety.

Then, Rhys felt his hands slip. “No, no!” he shouted. He felt himself be torn from the seat before flying backwards. He threw a hand out, which managed to reach for the railing. He clung onto it in desperation. Gravity wanted suck him out of the caravan, into the desert. The only person it didn't affect was Jack, who stood next to Rhys - an eyebrow raised with a delighted smirk teasing at his lips.

“Heya, kiddo. Holding up okay?” he asked, tone soft.

Rhys' eyebrows furrowed together. “Do I look like I'm holding up okay?” he spat out. His legs hung behind him as his grip began to weaken. “Shit – Jack, I can't hold on.” He looked at the hologram, horror in his eyes.

Jack laughed in response, much to Rhys' dismay. “Can't really do anything, y'know – hologram and all that.”

Rhys couldn't focus on the others, who were also beginning to struggle remaining inside the caravan. One of his fingers released from the railing. Then another. He grunted, trying to lift his other hand up to get a better grip.

But he couldn't.

The next moments flew past; a confusing blur. It didn't go down quite like it had before. He felt himself fly backwards, limbs weak as he soared out of the back and into the desert. He caught a brief glimpse of the moonshot before everything turned white.

* * *

His head pounded, vision swimming. He gasped for air, but couldn't seem to satisfy his thirsty lungs. The white light drizzled away. Rhys stumbled backwards, eyes trying to take in his surroundings.

The Atlas facility – Fiona, Sasha and Vaughn. They stared at him with the same confusion he'd seen earlier that day. He looked down, saw the Gortys piece in his hands, then dropped it, jolting back as his eyes widened. “No, Nope – what the -”

“What the hell, Rhys? Don't break it!” Fiona snapped.

“You okay, bro?” Vaughn asked, stepping toward him.

Rhys gulped. “We just – th - the moonshots... and then... why is this? I -” His words came out as a jumbled mess.

Blue flickered in beside him, followed by the sound of Jack's laughter. “Interesting! Congratulations, Rhys – you're immortal.”

“Wh – wha...?” Rhys blinked, watching Jack with a dumbfounded expression.

Jack rolled his eyes. “You died, dummy. It was real gory – blood and guts and bits of you everywhere – oh, man. Brilliant,” he chuckled. “And now, we're back here. Sooo... if you use a couple of those braincells, you should be able to put two and two together.”

Rhys turned still, freezing in place. He narrowed his eyes, unable to form any words. Instead of speaking, he gave Vaughn a nervous look before slowly turning around, then heading up the stairs.

“Okaay, then...” He heard Fiona say. He shuddered at her tone, but continued walking.

When he reached the top, then turned a corner, he sunk to his knees – head in his hands. Jack stood over him, peering down. “A-Are you implying what I think you are?” Rhys asked, voice lowered. It shook, but still held skepticism.

“Yep, you died and went back in time again. Crazy stuff. So, I think the best thing to do is to put this to the test.” Jack crouched down in front of Rhys.

Rhys lifted his head. “What... do you mean?” he asked, tone flat.

There was a glint in Jacks eyes. “Lemme kill ya, kiddo. We gotta make sure that my hypothesis is correct.” He lifted his hands, fingers twitching as he grinned at Rhys. “C'mon – it'll only hurt a little.”

“No! Quit it, I need to... wrap my head around this,” Rhys hissed, then waved a hand at Jack like he was trying to shoo an annoying fly. He pulled himself to his feet and then began pacing, rubbing at his sore temple. “I fell out of the caravan... and then... I... I don't know.”

“Like I said,” Jack chimed in. “Bits of you. Everywhere. You were smeared all over the place, pumpkin.”

Rhys let out a sigh. “And I got sent back here. I just... why is this happening?” He shook his head. “We need to leave. Now. If we can beat the moonshots, then the caravan won't get blown to bits and we can go straight to Old Haven.” His lip trembled, before he palmed at his face. “God, I do not wanna do this again. Fuck,” he cursed.

Jack burst into laughter. “Outrun moonshots? Oh, God – good luck with that one.”

Rhys pouted, dropping his hand. “Hey, I survived falling out of the caravan once – I'm sure I can at least do that again. I'd rather not, though – it was... really painful.”

With a wave of his hand, Jack said, “Whatever you say, Rhysie. I'm happy to watch you turn into a ketchup stain all day long. Especially if you can't die anymore.”

Rhys glared at him, before heading back downstairs. He dusted himself off in an awkward fashion, before clearing his throat. “Helios is about to fire moonshots at us. We have to leave,” he announced to the group, crossing his arms.

Nobody responded. They stood watching Fiona as she slipped the spork behind that guy's eye in morbid awe. Rhys cleared his throat again, louder. “We are under attack, people! We need to move!”

Then, there was an eye flying across the room. There was a quick scramble for it, before anyone paid any attention to Rhys.

“Moonshots? What makes you think that?” Sasha asked.

Rhys suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. “I just know, okay! You have to trust me.”

“Um – sure thing, Rhys,” Vaughn chimed in, offering support.

“What? No!” Sasha argued back. “We need to get inside this terminal. And I do not trust you, Mr Hyperion,” she jabbed a finger at Rhys. “You've been acting like a total weirdo.”

Rhys breathed out. “Look, I... I intercepted an echo from Helios! They have our location and sounded really pissed off. If we leave now, we might be able to avoid them,” he said.

“God, I love it when you lie to them,” Jack drawled out in a low tone, earning a quick glare from Rhys.

“He's right – the guys at Hyperion will be on our tail,” Vaughn added. “We do have this cool treasure map, though! And we found all this awesome stuff – pretty good haul, right?”

“Not quite ten million dollars,” Fiona huffed, lifting an eyebrow. She sighed. “Please don't tell me I scooped that guy's eye out for no reason.”

Rhys clenched his jaw. “Keep the eye as a souvenir then,” he snapped. “We need to go. Like – now.”

“Fine,” Fiona agreed with reluctance, before turning and heading for the door. The others followed her to the caravan.

“Try not to fuck it up this time, kitten,” Jack told Rhys. “Otherwise it's gonna be a really long day.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty gory. I mean, judging by the nature of this fic, you should understand that - but be warned. Also, this was incredibly hard to write because of multiple reasons. I'm working night shifts this weekend, so I'll try and get another chapter out before Monday but it might be a couple days late. Got most of the story drafted out though, which is nice :)
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> edit: um suicide warning btw. sorry.

Rhys climbed into the caravan. He glanced at each of the others as they chose the same spots; Sasha in the driver's seat - Fiona behind her, stood near the couch. Vaughn paced up and down. Jack took the centre, arms crossed with an amused expression on his face.

Rhys moved up to the front, eyebrows pinched together as he placed a hand on the dashboard, steadying himself as Sasha pushed her foot down on the acceleration. “Let me drive,” he urged, straight off the bat. “I can predict where the moonshots will land with my echo. I'll dodge around them and get us out of here.”

Sasha shot him a quick glance, before focusing back on the road. “But why are they firing moonshots to begin with?” she snapped. “Don't you both work for Hyperion?”

When Vaughn spoke up, Rhys felt another shudder of deja vu shoot down his back. “Yeah, I'll file a complaint with HR when we get back!” he shouted from behind. “But we have to focus on not dying, right now! And Rhys is right – he can predict where the moonshots will land!”

Sasha shook her head, frowning. With reluctance, she said, “Fine – you better know what you're doing.” She stood up, then leaned against the railing behind her. Rhys took the seat, focusing on his breathing as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in an anxious manner. Fiona spoke up, reminding him about the boost. He bit his lip, activated his echo, then began scanning the horizon. He held his breath, then swerved the caravan around each impact.

“Holy crap – nice!” Sasha said, moving to lean on the dashboard beside him.

Rhys felt a smug tug at his lips. “This isn't my first - uh, rodeo,” he said, attempting to remain composed. Jack lifted an eyebrow at him.

Then, the fourth moonshot smashed down in front of the caravan – blinding Rhys. Everything turned white, making his heart skip a beat. Once the light faded away, the huge sleeping Rakk Hive came into view. “Nuh-uh, nope,” he let out, before tugging the steering wheel in the opposite direction - straight into a large rock.

The impact sent Sasha stumbling backwards. Rhys felt himself lift out of his chair, before he dropped back down, the force smacking his head against the steering wheel in the process. Behind him, Jack flickered away as Rhys let out a groan. The caravan had stopped moving.

Rhys shook himself, before pushing down on the acceleration again, but the caravan's engine let out a disgruntled whine, before falling silent. “This is not good,” he mumbled, looking to the others for guidance.

Sasha pulled herself back up, then moved to Rhys' side. “Try the ignition again – she can be a little funny sometimes,” she said.

“The whole thing is literally falling apart,” Rhys grumbled, turning the key. Everything on Pandora seemed to be held together with duct tape and a few screws.

Then, Rakk began to cover the windscreen – one by one until the light could no longer get in. He glanced up at them, then tried the key again. Nothing. “It's not working!” Rhys rushed out.

Fiona ran up to the front. “Let me try,” she said, before turning the key. “Dammit!” she hissed. The engine remained devoid of any sign of life.

“What's going on?” Vaughn yelled.

“The engine is gone – we're not going anywhere,” Fiona said, then stood back and crossed her arms. “One of us needs to try and fix it. Or, we're stuck here,” she continued, frowning. She looked at Rhys.

He waved his arms. “I have no idea how to fix an engine!” he told her.

“Neither do I,” Sasha added.

“Nope, me neither!” Vaughn shouted.

“Well that's just great,” Rhys shook his head, tone tinted with sarcasm. “We're all useless.” Fiona shifted her weight, then pursed her lips. Before she had the chance to speak, another loud explosion rang out against the caravan, tearing the back panel off and leaving them exposed. Light flooded into the vehicle. Rhys let out a pained laugh, then threw his hands up in frustration. “Fantastic!” he shouted, before looking at the others.

“What do we do now?” Vaughn asked.

“We need to run,” Fiona breathed, staring on as the Rakk began swarming the gaping hole behind them. Sasha snatched the gun from the side, then threw it to Fiona. She began firing at the Rakk. Vaughn jumped, then dove out of the way, opting to cower in the corner. Then, the windscreen shattered, sending glass flying onto Sasha and Rhys. A Rakk pushed its way in through the window, before snapping at Rhys. On the other end, one of the monsters managed to dodge the bullets, before swooping down and screeching in Fiona's face. She yelled out, falling backwards as it began lunging at her, saliva dripping from its jaws. Just as she managed to push it backward, another Rakk piled onto her. “A little help!” she yelled at Vaughn as she struggled.

He looked down at the cooking pan in his hand, before swinging it at the creatures. It batted against a head with a thud, blood splattered against them. “Ah, no – it's in my mou-” Vaughn was cut off as more Rakk began swarming inside of the caravan, until all they could see was a mess of wings and snarling teeth.

Sasha fought her way through them. She protected her face as she dove to reach her gun. She fell down, but managed to grab it, then began firing rounds into the monsters, punching bullets into them. Fiona let out a pained cry as teeth sank into her leg. “Fiona!” Rhys shouted, mouth agape as he swung his baton, crackles of electricity sparking off the end.

“There's too many of them!” Sasha yelled, pausing to reload. Rhys kicked his legs out as of one the creatures snapped up at his feet, crawling across the floor toward him. His foot pushed against its head, forcing it backwards. One by one, the Rakk dropped to the ground as the sound of gunfire rang out across the desert. Rhys stabbed the baton down into a Rakk's head. When it stopped moving, he looked up to view the carnage.

Silence fell over them as the last monster dropped to the ground. Fiona whimpered, laying on her back as she clutched at her leg. Sasha pulled the corpses off her, then began assessing the wound. “Hey, it's okay – you're gonna be fine,” she whispered, but frowned as her fingers ghosted over the damage. She then pressed her hand down over the wound, inciting a sharp hiss from her sister.

“And she's bleeding – holy crap,” Vaughn breathed.

Rhys dashed forward. “Fiona - are you okay?” he asked in a panicked voice. His heart raced in his chest, breathing heavy as he caught his breath.

“No, I'm absolutely fine!” she snapped back, face scrunched up.

“Hey – what do you care, anyway?” Sasha hissed at him. Then, she shook her head before turning back to Fiona. “Think you can stand?”

Fiona let out another pained noise as she pulled herself up. “Gonna... have to,” she grunted. “We can't just stay here – we've got to keep moving.” Sasha helped pull her up, but when Fiona put weight down on her leg, she winced.

“Why is this happening?” Rhys murmured to himself, eyes wide.

Sasha whipped her head around to glare at him. “Because you idiots came here and... ruined everything! Did you seriously think you wouldn't piss your corporate overlords off by coming down here and destroying our deal? This is all _your_ fault.”

The words punched into Rhys. “I... I'm sorry,” he said, looking down at his feet.

Vaughn stepped forward. “Hey, this wouldn't have happened if you didn't try to trick us with a fake vault key! Not cool!” he crossed his arms.

They continued to argue. Rhys felt the guilt in his stomach twist into frustration as he began pacing, searching through his jumbled thoughts for a way out of the situation. He clenched his fists, eyebrows furrowing down as his mind raced.

Then, something crashed into the roof of the caravan. The deafening noise left Rhys' ears ringing as he stumbled, senses disorientated. His nerves screamed out in pain for a second before everything turned white.

* * *

“Gah!” Rhys shouted, jerking forward as he found himself back at the Atlas facility once again. He looked at the Gortys piece in his hand, then threw it on the ground. It fit the floor with a familiar thud. He then turned, sharp on his heel before storming upstairs.

Fiona yelled after him about not breaking it, then asked the others,“What the hell was that?”

Jack followed Rhys. “How'd it go?” the hologram asked, tone light. “Not well – I'm guessing. How'd you die this time, huh?”

“This is impossible!” Rhys told him, waving his hands. “Everything I try gets me killed! I've already done this! Why can't I do it again?” He let out a frustrated noise before rubbing at his head.

“Aw, c'mon – you've only tried twice.”

“You try dying twice!” Rhys snapped.

Jack narrowed his eyes. “I already have died twice. So insensitive, Rhysie,” he said, then stepped closer. “Maybe you've gotta try something different. Spice things up a bit.”

“Oh yeah?” Rhys asked. He raised an eyebrow, then crossed his arms. “Please, tell me – what should I be doing differently?” Sarcasm dripped off each word.

“I dunno – maybe you could make out with the hot one, or push your dorky friend out the door. The universe wouldn't expect that, right?”

“That is not helpful,” Rhys hissed, before resorting to pacing up and down the corridor.

“Or...” Jack stepped forward. “You could let me try.”

“What?” Rhys squinted his eyes at him. “No! No freakin' way am I letting _you_ take over.” He stabbed a finger at Jack, then shook his head. “Nope. Not. Happening.”

Jack whined. “C'mon, cupcake! Don't you want this to be over? I can get us over to your creepy mechanic friend and get us on the way to Helios in a day.”

“I already told you – we're sticking to the original plan. Old Haven, then the bio-dome, Helios and then the vault,” said Rhys. “And when we do go to Helios – I will not be taking you anywhere near that mainframe. You can stay in my head, then once I've been to the vault and fixed this mess – you're _**gone**_.”

“Yeah, sure thing, kid-”

“I've already done it once!” Rhys cut him off. “I will do it again! I'm not scared of you, Jack,” he spat, venom on his tongue. Then, he turned and went back downstairs.

Vaughn noticed him, then walked over. “Who... were you shouting at up there?” he asked.

Rhys exhaled in annoyance, then cleared his throat. “Nobody. Moonshots are incoming, we have to leave!” he announced. Fiona argued back, but Rhys pressed on, heading for the exit. “If you don't want to die, get in the caravan.”

* * *

So, Rhys tried again. “Move,” he ordered Sasha, pushing her out of the driver's seat. He drove past the first round of moonshots, ignoring her as she yelled at him.  
  
“Yeah, that's right - assert your dominance,” Jack encouraged, hovering around Rhys' shoulder.  
  
“Shut up,” Rhys grumbled back, eyes narrowed. He avoided the Rakk Hive, then braced himself for the splattering of Pandora's wildlife against the windscreen. “Someone shoot them, I can't see!” He shouted.  
  
Fiona used Sasha's gun to fire at the Rakk. The glass hit Rhys in the face, but he pressed onward. The moonshot that destroyed the caravan before came hurling down at them. Rhys cursed under his breath, swerving just a few seconds late.  
  
He didn't bother to turn around and examine the damage. Instead, he pushed down harder on the acceleration, then had to spin the wheel to the right as he drifted around an obstacle.  
  
“Whoaa, shit!" Vaughn yelled out. "I'm falling - I'm falling!” Rhys turned his head to see Vaughn stumbling around, balance lost as his hands reached for anything that could steady him. They drove over another bump. The caravan rocked, teetering on its wheels, sending Vaughn tumbling backwards.  
  
“Vaughn!” Rhys yelled, ready to leap from the driver's seat to extend a hand out to his friend - but it was too late.  
  
Vaughn's eyes were wide, mouth hanging open as he fell. Rhys jumped over the railing, watching his friend as he hit the desert ground with a painful looking thud. Rakk began to swarm around him.  
  
“We can't stop now, we have to keep driving!” Fiona yelled, tugging Rhys backward by the collar.  
  
Jack leaned closer to him. “She's right, princess - stop now and you'll have to do this all over again.”  
  
“Dammit!” Rhys hissed, balling his fists. He turned to face Jack. “I can't leave him behind,” he said through gritted teeth. Anger swirled in his gut. Jack shrugged, then Rhys took the wheel.

“Incoming!” Fiona yelled, pointing at the approaching moonshot. Rhys' lip twitched. He smashed his foot down on the brake, forcing the caravan into abrupt squeaky stop. “What are you doing? Are you crazy?” Fiona urged, staring at him in horror.

Rhys didn't respond. Jack stood beside him, lips pursed and eyebrows raised. “Well, here we go agai-”

* * *

For the fourth time, Rhys' vision cleared. He closed his eyes, then breathed as he listened to the others chat between them about what they'd learn is the Gortys Project. Stupid Gortys. Stupid vault. Stupid time travelling fiasco. Angry thoughts forced themselves to the forefront of his mind.  
  
“Wanna go have one of our little chats or dive right in?” Jack asked, flickering in beside him.  
  
Rhys didn't open his eyes. “I think I'm in Hell,” he said, voice quiet. The others didn't notice. He walked to the stairs, then sat down on the first one. “Or dreaming,” he continued. “I keep expecting to wake up, but never do.”  
  
Jack took a seat beside him. “That's... kinda depressing. So... what's the plan? Still don't want me to have a go?”  
  
Rhys shrugged. “I think I'll just stay here for a while,” he mumbled. “Need to... clear my head. Rest for a bit.”  
  
Jack glanced at his wrist. “Well, you've got about five minutes before it starts raining moonshots.”  
  
“Cool.” Rhys rested his chin on his human arm, which was propped up on his knees. He drew them closer to his chest.  
  
“You okay there, dude?” Vaughn asked him.  
  
“Yeah,” Rhys replied, eyes still on the floor. “Just... having a mental breakdown. I'll be okay soon.”  
  
Fiona have him a weird look, then turned to Vaughn. “What is going on with him?” She asked.  
  
Vaughn raised an eyebrow. “Pandora is a nightmare. I had a mental breakdown like, an hour ago.” He sighed. “You'd understand if you were from Helios.”  
  
Fiona laughed at him. “Well, we're both from Pandora and have to live with this crap every day. It's not easy.”  
  
“Uh, yeah - that was my point,” replied Vaughn.  
  
After Fiona scanned the eye, a video started playing on the terminal. The others watched in curiosity, but Rhys only half listened. He lingered on the edge of sleep, until an explosion made his eyes snap open.  
  
“Moonshots!” Fiona gasped. She looked at the others. “Let's go!”  
  
Vaughn and Sasha followed her back to the caravan, but Rhys stayed behind. “You'd better get moving, pumpkin,” Jack told him. The ground shook as another impact hit the roof of the building.  
  
“I know...” Rhys mumbled. He rubbed his thumb around his data port, then sighed. “I just... don't want to keep doing this. What if I can't get past? What if I do, but then something kills me later on? What if I end up in some... loop from hell for eternity? Why is this even happening to me?” His voice grew more anxious and stressed with each word.  
  
Another explosion sent debris falling from the ceiling. It clattered around them, bits of metal and wood scattering about the room with each tremor.  
  
Jack nudged his elbow, but clipped through him. “Hmm, well at least you've got company - right?” he said, giving him a smile.  
  
Rhys rolled his eyes and then glared at him. “Woo. Yes. Handsome Jack is accompanying me throughout dying repeatedly. Just who I need to keep my spirits up,” he said, tone flat.  
  
“Y'know, you get more sarcastic every time you die,” said Jack. “Besides - you love it, kiddo. I know you d-”  
  
Something hit the back of Rhys' head, inciting a sharp yelp from him as Jack disappeared. Wincing, he touched the area that hurt and then hissed, before pulling his hand back. He saw crimson on his fingers, then cursed.  
  
He stood up, then began looking around for the exit. “Bet they already left,” he grumbled to himself, before jumping to his right in order to avoid a large pipe. It crashed into the floor beside him, crumbling into smaller pieces. “Just great...” Rhys gulped.  
  
The lights flickered off as the building shook once again. Rhys' eyes opened wide as he tried to look for any signs of danger, before holding up his robot hand and activating the display. The small amount of light it emitted only cut through about half a meters worth of darkness - but it was better than nothing.  
  
He stumbled around in a near blind panic, human fingers reaching out to find a wall or something to help orient his bearings.  
  
Then, something connected with his leg. It pinned him to the ground. Rhys struggled against the weight, hands fumbling against it as he tried to push it away - but it wouldn't budge. He heard a snap, followed by pain ebbing up his leg then into his side. He let out a string of curses as he laid on his back, panting in desperation.  
  
Something fell from the ceiling, then smashed down onto his face, turning the room from black to white.  
  
* * *  
  
With each reset, Rhys grew more exhausted. He'd struggle to keep his eyes open as he drove, and found himself jumping at anything that posed a threat. The only thing that kept him alert was the absurd amount of adrenaline that raced through his body, keeping him jittery and paranoid. Jack continued to be useless - teasing Rhys whenever he said something stupid, or mocking him when he fucked up.

No matter what he tried, something always went wrong. A moonshot would hit them; someone would tumble out into the desert; the caravan would set on fire; the Rakk Hive would crush them; Rakk would get inside and chew someone's face off - there seemed to be no end to the carnage.

Jack got bored after the fifteenth death or so. He either stayed inside of Rhys' head, or floated around on his back, yawning. He didn't bat an eye when Rhys crashed the caravan into a cliff face. “Bet you suuuck at racing games,” Jack had told him upon coming back to his senses in the Atlas facility.

“I feel like I haven't slept in almost a week, okay?” Rhys had snapped back, before storming over to the caravan. He shouted for the others to follow.

After a few more feeble attempts to survive the ordeal, after a particularly painful death, Rhys burst into tears. Fiona and Sasha shared an awkward glance, before looking to Vaughn. He shrugged back at them. Rhys' face turned red as he walked straight through Jack, then up the stairs.

“Whoa, hey – you okay there?” Jack asked him. Rhys shook his head, then bit down on his lip. “C'mon – don't be a cry baby. The bandits that killed me died waaay more times than you have so far... stupid Dahl and their New-U machines,” he added.

Rhys sunk to his knees, then tipped his head back against the wall. His breath hitched in his throat. “That doesn't make me feel much better,” he grumbled.

“I'm telling you, kiddo – and I've said this a few times now – you gotta try something different. Break the cycle.” He leaned in, eyes alight with a familiar glint. “Let **me** try.”

Rhys, for a brief moment, pursed his lips as he considered this. Then, he shook his head. “I just... no. No, okay – not happening.” His voice grew defiant, but still shook. The tears had stopped rolling down his cheeks. He took in a deep breath. “I'm gonna just... drive in the opposite direction. See what happens,” he decided with a little wave of his hand.

Jack, sighed but then gave him a nod. “That's... different. Slightly, at least. Personally I'd go for something more dramatic – but hey, it's an improvement! I say go for it, kiddo.”

Rhys, as he sniffled and wiped his face with his sleeve, went back downstairs. Vaughn gave him a worried look. “I'm fine,” Rhys mumbled, walking past him. “C'mon – we have to leave. Moonshots and stuff.”

As usual, Fiona and Sasha tried to argue, but followed him to the caravan. He took the driver's seat before Sasha could sit down, put the vehicle into reverse, then backed away from the road he'd driven down so many times. “We should go to Hollow Point!” Fiona shouted, holding onto the railing as an explosion made the caravan wobble.

“Good idea – they won't be able to track us,” Sasha agreed with her. “Rhys – you're driving the wrong way,” she said to him.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened. “Doesn't matter.”

“Um, it kinda does,” Sasha urged. “You're driving straight into bandit territory.”

Rhys rolled his eyes as Jack laughed at him. “Of _course_ I am,” he said.

“This is serious!” Sasha continued. “We don't have the gun power to take them on. You know what bandits on Pandora are like, don't you?”

Rhys narrowed his eyes on the road. “Skin pizza, roasting eyeballs, yada yada ya – I know.”

“Oh man, skin pizza parties,” Jack added with a chuckle.

He kept driving. For the next twenty minutes, all he had to focus on was avoiding the moonshots. With no Rakk to distract him, Rhys navigated his way through until they became sparse. He breathed out a shaky sigh of relief, then closed his eyes for half a second.

“Uh oh,” he heard Vaughn say. Rhys scanned the horizon, then gulped when he saw the body hung from a billboard with Jack's face on it. “God, I'm hot,” the hologram had to add. Rhys pushed onward. As he did, more and more warnings came into view. Corpses began to litter the landscape.

Then, the gunshots started to hit the side of the caravan. Yelling could be heard from outside.

“Shit!” Sasha hissed. “If we all die here, I'm blaming you, Mr Hyperion,” she then snapped at Rhys.

“He's doing his best, okay!” Vaughn added from behind.

Rhys smiled at the support, but his face quickly dropped into a frown when a psycho jumped onto the windscreen. It – he – Rhys wasn't sure, started shouting at them, waving a blade around. Rhys swerved the caravan from left to right, but the psycho clung on. Another appeared, then two more. “Fuck, shit – fuck,” Rhys started cursing, unsure of what to do. One of the psychos brought the butt of his knife down onto the windscreen. It cracked. It hit the glass again, before the pane shattered all over Rhys. The psycho came tumbling in, then stood up in the middle of the caravan. It shook itself, then began waving its knife around.

Sasha raised her gun, then pulled the trigger. She missed, hitting the psycho in the leg. It fell to the ground, then snarled as it snapped out for her ankles. “That hurt. Make you hurt!” it screamed, fingers clawing at her feet. It managed to get a grip on her shoe, before pulling her down. She hit the floor, gun falling from her grasp as she let out a pained grunt.

Meanwhile, two more psychos fought their way past Rhys. One of them lunged for Fiona, who backed up against the wall. It grabbed her by the shoulder, then raised a knife. “Mmm! Stab time! Haven't stabbed since breakfast!” it said, before plunging the knife into her stomach.

She let out a howl, eyes wide as she doubled over. “Help! P-Please!” she cried out. A tear strolled down her face as the psycho pulled the blade out, then shoved it back inside of her.

Rhys froze, staring at the scene with horror in his eyes. Each of his limbs turned numb. “This 'aint looking so great,” Jack told him. Rhys' mouth hung open, unable to form any words. Then, he felt a hand grab him from behind. He was pulled against a bandit's chest, then felt something cold and sharp press against his windpipe. “Oof,” Jack grimaced at him, before flickering away.

More of the Pandoran psychopaths came piling into the caravan, jumping onto his friends. Vaughn managed to swat a few of them away, before he was pinned down to the ground. The cooking pan fell from his hand with a clang. Sasha scooted back into a corner, eyes darting between her sister and their assailants. Blood dripped from Fiona's mouth as she took another plunge to her guts.

The psycho dragged its knife across Rhys' throat. His eyes widened as his breathing cut off. Blood rushed down to his lungs, making him choke and splutter as he felt the grip release. He collapsed to the floor, gargling on his insides as he reached a desperate hand out to the others. His robot hand clutched at his throat, trying to keep himself held together.

The slaughter continued. Rhys could do nothing but watch as his friends were chopped to pieces before him. When the white light began to fill his senses, he welcomed it. _Just let it be over_.

* * *

When he came to, Rhys' lips were stretched into a pained smile. One of his eyes twitched.

“You okay, bro?” Vaughn asked.

Rhys felt something deep inside him _snap_. “Great!” he yelled. “I'm absolutely fucking fantastic!” He began to pace between them, letting the Gortys piece drop to the ground.

“What the hell, Rhys – don't break it!” Fiona said, jerking forward.

Rhys whipped his head around to face her. “You don't have a damn clue about the shit I've been through,” he said, shaking his head in a slow manner. Fiona frowned, stepping backward. “I have died like – I don't know, twenty times today?” he looked up, attempting to recall the scattered mess inside his head. “And something tells me... that _this_ is just the start of things!”

“What are you talking about, Rhys?” Vaughn asked, shooting him a glance.

Rhys bellowed out into frustrated laughter. “Oh, ho! It's been a fucking day, that's what.”

Jack stood beside them, remaining silent. A smirk teased at his lips as he enjoyed the show.

Rhys continued to ramble. “Not to mention the fact that Handsome motherfucking Jack is back in my head! But none of you will remember any of that!” he turned to face Sasha. “Did you know I murdered everyone on Helios because I'm a naïve idiot?”

“Okay, okay – buddy. C'mon, lets go have a chat or something, yeah?” Vaughn tugged at his sleeve, expression growing more concerned.

Rhys pushed him away. “So yeah, I think I'm actually about to go crazy. Not that any of you don't already think I'm crazy!” His tone filled with mockery as he said, “Oh, no! Rhys is talking to himself again! What a weirdo – maybe there's something wrong with him?” His voice grew angry again as he spat the last few words out.

He turned to Fiona. “We opened a damn vault together,” he said, lowering his tone. “We actually became friends, y'know? And now – you're back to hating me again!” He stepped forward, then took in a deep breath. Their eyes locked together. He lifted a hand to her face, then cupped her cheek.

Her face became flustered. “Wh - what are you doing?” she stammered, eyes wide. He lifted his other hand, pulled her toward him and then felt his lips smash against hers.

“Oh wow – did not see that coming,” Jack commented.

Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment. For a second – just a second – she returned the kiss. Rhys felt regret flood through him when Sasha pulled him backwards. “What the hell?” she growled. Fiona stumbled away, mouth open as she tried to compose herself.

Rhys bit his lip, then shook his head. “That was dumb, I know – don't worry!” he shouted at Sasha. “And you know what – it's fine! None of you will remember this anyway.”

His gaze settled on the gun on the side. Eyebrows furrowed together, he stormed over to it, before lifting the weapon and pushing it to the side of his head. The others stared at him, expressions filled with a variety of emotions.

Jack looked shocked, eyebrows raised. “Wow, kitten,” he said, then shook his head.

Rhys squeezed his eyes shut, then pulled the trigger.

* * *

He walked upstairs without saying a word.

As usual, Jack followed. “That was... interesting,” he said.

“Do it.”

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. “Do what?”

Rhys clenched his jaw. “You know what I meant. Do it. I'm tired.”

His eye flickered from blue to yellow. Jack's lips splayed out into a smirk before he disappeared. Then, the same smirk settled onto Rhys' features, a new found glint in his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. Sorry that this chapter has taken so long to get out - and that it's pretty short. Been super down about my writing since I posted that last chapter and been in a bit of a writing rut, but I forced myself to get this done. Much lighter this time! Heavy stuff will be back though, so enjoy the lack of it while it lasts.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has left kudos and commented! The feedback is great and really helps me figure out where I'm gonna take this fic. I'm determined to get the damn thing finished since I have the entire plot worked out. Juuuuust gotta not get depressed about my writing and keep going. Gonna be trying a slightly different style from now on, as I was too much of a perfectionist with it before and honestly I think it made everything feel a bit stiff. So, I'm loosening up and gonna not over edit everything. This chapter was fun to write though! Apologies if my interperatation of Jack isn't amazing, though xD
> 
> Enjoy!

Good lord, he'd not expected the poor kid to freak out like that. In a way, Jack felt bad for him. Sure, the little brat had murdered him after destroying Helios – but watching him grow more and more close to the breaking point as he died repeatedly had become painful to watch. Still somewhat hilarious. But damn, depressing, too.

Jack, using Rhys' body, headed down the stairs, stretching his arms over his head. “Oh yeah, it feels good to have real limbs,” he said through a yawn. When he reached the bottom, he turned to the others, then placed his hands on his hips. “What's up, kids?” he asked, no intention of acting like a nervous awkward wreck in an effort to impersonate Rhys.

“Fiona is scooping some guy's eye out with a spork - it's super gross,” the dorky one told him through a grimace.

“Nice one, bandit lady,” said Jack. Huh. His voice felt super weird. A little squeaky. “You're gonna need that later.” He smirked, then pulled a few different faces, trying to acclimate himself with the new sensations. Felt kinda nice to not have a mask on – or be a hologram, for that matter.

The nerdy kid narrowed his eyes, then tilted his head at him. The chick with the hat frowned, but continued working. “Shut up - I'm trying to concentrate!” she hissed. Jack rolled his eyes – sure, the bandit was a real cutie, but hearing her repeat her lines had grown boring.

“You're doing a great job, pumpkin - don't worry. But could ya speed it up a little bit? Word from Helios says that they're about to fire a load of moonshots at us. Can ya believe it? Jackasses.”

“How do you know that?” The shorter chick asked. God, he could not remember her name.

Jack smirked at her. It felt good. “I'm a really good hacker.”

The eyeball flew across the room. Once it was back in safe hands, hat-girl sighed before turning to Jack, then raising an eyebrow at him. “Moonshots?” she asked.

“Yep. We'd better get moving unless we wanna turn into mush. C'mon kids – follow me!” ordered Jack, before striding for the exit. The others exchanged a glance between them before following. Jack revelled in the fact that he wore Rhys' body better than he ever did. He moved with confidence, standing tall with an almost predator-like stalk as he moved forward.

They got in the caravan. Jack plopped himself down in the driver's seat, then flexed his hands against the steering wheel, activating Rhys' echo. The mechanical eye whirring to life was a strange sensation, one that would take some time getting used to. “Hmm,” he hummed to himself. He'd always had someone else drive him around Pandora – usually one of his body doubles. That wasn't to say he couldn't drive, but it had been a while. Couldn't do a worse job than the kid, though – right?

He pushed down on the acceleration, then leaned forward as the engine came to life, watching the impact locations of the moonshots. Easy. “Why are they firing moonshots at us anyway? Don't you work for Hyperion?” asked the not-so-hot one – not to say she wasn't attractive, just not his type - just as Jack swerved past an explosion.

Glasses boy opened his mouth to speak, but Jack cut him off. “Wait, wait - get this. I'm gonna file a complaint with HR when we get back! Ain't that right, weirdly buff dork?”

“... I was just thinking that,” he said. “But we have to focus on not dying, right now!”

Hat babe then chimed in. “We should head to Hollow Point! They can't track us there!”

“Great idea, hot stuff!” Jack agreed. “There's a guy who can build me a spaceship there, right?” he then asked.

“What do you want a spaceship for?” weird earrings girl hissed.

Jack rolled his eyes. “To go back to Helios with? Kinda obvious, don't you think? Gotta file that report somehow.”

The dork cringed. “That's if they let us go back. I think we really pissed them off.”

“Don't worry about that, pumpkin! I've got something that'll keep 'em happy,” Jack reassured him.

“Um... what's that?” he asked. “We don't have ten million dollars, or a vault key. We're kinda screwed.”

Jack looked up in thought for a moment, before saying, “the uh... the Gortys thingy - obviously. Hyperion will love it. We hand it over, then you can have your sad little accounting job back,” he lied as he drove past the Rakk Hive, leaving it undisturbed.

“We are not handing it over to your corporate overlords!” the shorter chick argued. “Besides - we don't even know what it does yet - and it's telling us to go to Old Haven.”

“Just trust me, m'kay, babe? I know what I'm doing.” As the words came out of his mouth, the Rakk began covering the window again. “Hey, kill these little bastards for me, won't ya?” he asked hat girl.

Her sister – room-mate? No, sister - threw the gun over. Hat girl began shooting at them, sending glass all over Rhys' body. Jack ignored the shards, then tugged the steering wheel to the left in anticipation of the moonshot that would usually tear the caravan to pieces. Once the Rakk were cleared away, the moonshot crashed down to the side of the caravan - a near miss. “Woo! Fuck yeah, baby! That's how it's done!” Jack yelled, pumping a fist in the air.

“Nice!” Less hot girl praised.

He kept driving, twisting from left to right as he avoided each moonshot. “Hey - the boost is charged!” hat girl shouted.

The corner of Jack's lip tugged up. “Now, as I, Rhys, would say - hold onto your butts!”

He smashed his fist down on the button. The engine revved, before Jack felt Rhys' body being pushed back against the seat. He used his robot hand to keep a tight grip on the steering wheel, grinning as they picked up speed. He whooped, shouting as they flew past more of the Pandoran wildlife. The others clung on in desperation.

The dork was the first to lose his grasp, yelling out in a panicked tone as he was hurled backwards. He hit the back wall of the caravan with a painful thud. Hatless chick followed, but managed to reach an arm out to hold onto the coffee table. It didn't matter, though - nobody was going anywhere. Once the boost finished, the caravan slowed down to a normal pace.

“That was too easy,” Jack laughed to himself. How could the kid have fucked up so many times? “Brat must be cursed or something,” he chuckled under his breath.

One they were out of danger and the moonshots stopped firing, Jack felt his eyelids drooping. He yawned as the adrenaline wore off, exhaustion beginning to kick in. The others had pulled themselves back to their feet, before settling down. “D-Do you think we're safe?” asked the dork.

“I... I think so,” hot stuff said.

Less hot stuff moved back up the front, then nudged Jack's - Rhys'? Jack's for the time being - shoulder. “Good work, want me to take over?” She offered.

Jack yawned again. The kid really had been exhausted. “You know what? Go for it, babes. I could really go for a nap.” Now that they were no longer in danger - danger Jack had found far too easy to escape – God, he was such a badass hero – the others began to give him weird looks again due to his behaviour. Not that Jack cared. He doubted Rhys would either, if it meant getting out of this mess.

He got up, walked over to couch, stretched and then threw himself on it. Dorky guy sat down near his feet. “That was... crazy,” he said, eyes wide. "I really thought we were gonna die. Crazy that we've made it this far, right?"

“Oh, absolutely wild.”

“Hey, um...” he continued. His expression grew worried. "You've been acting kinda strange. Not yourself. A bit... douchey? What's going on?"

“Oh, I'm great,” Jack replied. Then, he bit his lip before swapping up his posture. “I mean... uh, I'm - I'm just scared and... Pandora is awful and I-I'm overcompensating... for my complete awkwardness... bro.”

Glasses rolled his eyes. “Please - you know people find your awkwardness endearing, right?”

Jack snorted. “Yeah, somehow I doubt that. I am pretty cute, though.” He ran a hand through his hair, which was shorter than what he was used to. Dork boy lifted an eyebrow at the statement. "And tired. Veeery tired." Jack yawned again, feeling his eyes grow heavy. "I'm gonna sleep. Wake me up if we're about to die - 'kay, pumpkin? Bro?”

He didn't drift off as quick as he thought he would. Each of the kid's limbs felt heavy, dead weight on the sofa. His head throbbed, too – but it didn't bother Jack. The sensation felt weirdly nice. Having flesh and nerves and all the good things that came along with being a human was something he'd missed. It was a shame Rhys would be back in charge soon – hell, it was a shame that the kid hadn't let him keep this body all that time ago, back on Helios. He wasn't as big and handsome as Jack, but damn – the little twink was... pretty. Cute little nose. Gorgeous echo eye implant. Jack knew he could rock it so much better than Rhys.

But, he'd go back to being a hologram soon. Being a sexy blue ghost had been fun for a while, but Jack had grown weary of the lack of attention. He deserved to be seen – not just by Rhys. Haunting him had been fun, though. If the kid ever made it back to a half-normal life, he'd need some serious therapy.

Good lord, Rhys had shot himself during that last reset. The thought should have sparked delight in Jack, but instead it had made his stomach drop, which in turn made him feel... weird. Something about Rhys' wide, almost crazy eyes as he'd pushed that gun to his head was, for lack of a better term, gut wrenching. Naw, that was too dramatic. It made Jack unsettled. He didn't want to see it happen again. Plus, Rhys sulking about in a depressive episode for the last few deaths had grown boring pretty quick. Jack had more important things to consider.

Like getting back on Helios. Getting a body back. Making sure Rhys didn't destroy his empire again – _killing_ the little brat and sending him all the way back if he tried. Jack had to admit, though – the kid had some serious nerve.

* * *

When Rhys woke up, he half expected to be back at the Atlas facility. Yet, he was horizontal, oddly rested and his face was covered in drool. He rubbed at his bleary eyes, then yawned. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, then glanced at his surroundings.

It was dark out - moonlight crept in through the window, leaving a dim gleam on everything inside the caravan. “Jack, you around?” he asked.

Blue appeared beside him. “Hey, pumpkin. How ya feeling?”

“Not bad... actually. What happened? Did we make it?”

“You can bet that pretty ass of yours we did. It was easy actually. No idea why you kept dying. Guess you just needed to let the pro give it a shot.”

Rhys let out a sigh, then cringed. "Oh my God - I feel so stupid." He palmed at his face, eyes filled with horror as memories swam back into his head. “D-Did I really freak out and... oh God, kiss Fiona? Then I -" he stopped, then bit his lip. “Sorry you had to see that. I'm glad the others don't remember.”

Jack waved a dismissive hand. “I got your back, buddy. 'Musta been real hard. Dying over and over again and all that. Thought it'd be funny at first but it just got kinda sad. And repetitive.”

“Yeah...”

“But, we made it! Everyone is safe and happy. You're not dead or dying - which is progress! I like progress, Rhysie. Makes me hard.”

Rhys' eyes widened, face turning red. “Oh, um o-okay,” he laughed awkwardly. “Where are we?”

“Some dingy bandit ridden cave town.”

“I told you we were going to Old Haven,” Rhys started, before shaking his head and letting out a sigh. “Actually no - this is fine. Gives me some time to chill out and get my head together.” He laughed again. “Kinda glad, really. Don't think I would've been able to handle dealing with Vasquez right after all of that.”

“Ahh, Wallethead? Just punch him in the nuts. He loves that.” Jack nodded with a smile.

“So... where are the others?”

“No idea. Probably talking to the creepy mechanic outside.”

“We're at Scooters?”

“Yep. You should ask him about that spaceship while we're here.”

“Jack...”

“Really, kiddo - think about it!” Jack piped up. “We can get your Gortys thingy, I can get my body back, and then we can do all the other stuff.”

“We should really stick to the plan. If I die again... holy crap - if I die again, I don't know what I'll do.” Rhys looked down at the floor. He gulped, then looked back up, meeting Jack's eyes. “If we go to Old Haven and... things reset again, it's less work to catch up on than building a whole spaceship and going all the way to Helios. Besides - you don't wanna get your body back for me to die straight after, do you?”

Jack pursed his lips, but didn't say anything.

They sat in silence for a while. It was surprisingly nice. Peaceful. Everything had been a crazy blur that Rhys was not prepared to think about. Instead, he found himself daydreaming, trying to avoid the cringe ridden guilt that nagged at the back of his mind. He thought about being back on Helios, tucked into his comfy Hyperion issued bed. He missed his friends. Sure, he was a selfish type of glad that Vaughn was stuck with him down here – but he hadn't really spoken to him in what felt like years. He missed their chats, their late night video game sessions, lunch with him and Yvette. He let out a deep sigh at the thought. If only he could go back and avoid this tangled mess he'd created. The irony had him let out a sad chuckle.

But for now – he'd escaped the loop from hell. The thought that something would probably kill him again soon made him nervous – terrified, even – but he sunk into the fact that he was safe, for now.


End file.
